Several Colorado athletes are among the 61 nominations to represent the United States at the 2007 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, holding opening ceremonies in Fort William, Scotland, today. One year before the Olympic Games in Beijing, Boulder’s Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru-Gary Fisher) and Todd Wells of Durango (GT-Hyundai) earned starts as “coaches’ selections” to compete in men’s cross country. Heather Irmiger of Boulder (Subaru-Gary Fisher) was selected to the women’s team, and Durango’s Shonny Vanlandingham (Luna) declined her discretionary nomination, opening a roster spot on the seven-man, eight-woman team for Kelli Emmett of Colorado Springs (Giant).
USA Cycling National Development Team members Sam Jurekovic of Colorado Springs, Colin Cares of Boulder and Tad Elliott of Durango received nominations in the U23 men’s cross country division. As the U23 national champion, Jurekovic was the lone automatic nomination for the men. U23 women’s national champion Chloe Forsman of Boulder (Luna) is joined by discretionary selection Caitlyn Tuel of Boulder (Trek-VW) on their two-woman team.
Lisa Myklak of Boulder (Leelikesbikes.com) and Darian Harvey of Durango Roughriders were nominated to the elite women’s downhill squad, racing alongside Coloradans Cole Bangert of Twin Lakes (Morewood-Utopia) and T.J. Sharp of Boulder (Yeti-Fox) on the men’s side. Jessica Vogt of Boulder (Dianese-Gamut-Fox), Neven Steinmetz of Durango (TM Totally Wired), Ross Milan of Golden (Yeti-Fox) and Tommy Tokarczyk of Durango (Jamis) will compete in 4-Cross.
SNOWBOARDING
Minturn’s Bidez third in New Zealand Cup event
Clair Bidez of Minturn started the World Cup snowboarding season with a third-place halfpipe finish at New Zealand’s Cardrona Resort last weekend. The reigning junior world championships halfpipe gold medalist finished just behind American teammate and Olympic snowboardcross silver medalist Lindsey Jacobellis of Vermont to land her first World Cup podium finish. Halfpipe world champion Manuela Pesko of Switzerland won the season-opening event.
Aspen’s Gretchen Bleiler, who won the event last year, stumbled to a 22nd-place finish. Recent Aspen transplant and fellow Olympian Tricia Byrnes finished 14th.
Japan’s Ryoh Ayono won the men’s event. Matthew Ladley of Steamboat Springs, Dylan Bidez of Minturn and Broc Waring of Edwards finished 14th, 21st and 27th, respectively.
In other snowboarding competition, 2006 Olympian Andy Finch of Fresno, Calif., took top honors among the men in last week’s Australian Open. 2002 Olympic gold medalist Kelly Clark of Mount Snow, Vt., won the women’s event.
MOUNTAIN BIKING
Prokop, Seattle’s Kintner claim “Y-Cross” titles
Michal Prokop of the Czech Republic captured the individual title in Beaver Creek and earned his third consecutive crown as “World Professional Champion” in the Jeep King of the Mountain’s “Y-Cross” mountain bike competition. On the women’s side, Seattle’s Jill Kintner won the individual event title, as the Netherlands’ Anneke Beerten captured the season-long crown in the three-event series that wrapped up in Colorado on Saturday.
Local athletes Chris Del Bosco of Vail, Lisa Myklak of Boulder and Neven Steinmetz of Boulder struggled in the head-to-head “cross” format, all finishing in the lower half of their respective eight-racer fields. The race from Beaver Creek will air on CBS Sports on Oct. 21.
